Chapter 10 - The Last Secret of the Voss Family|
Rosalind had always considered Vivienne Voss her sister.
Not by blood.
By choice.
They had met when Rosalind was twenty-three, shortly after she fell in love with Callum.
Vivienne was younger than Callum by six years.
Beautiful.
Sharp-tongued.
Funny.
And fiercely loyal.
Or so Rosalind had believed.
Vivienne helped care for Gideon when he was born.
Stayed beside Rosalind during Beckett's difficult delivery.
Held Piers in the hospital while Callum negotiated a dangerous business dispute.
She had been there for every important moment.
Birthdays.
Funerals.
Christmas mornings.
Anniversaries.
And now Sloane Mercer was accusing her of helping destroy the marriage.
Rosalind stared across Margaret's office.
"Are you certain?"
Sloane nodded.
"Yes."
Gideon's expression hardened.
"What proof do you have?"
Sloane opened her handbag.
She removed a small envelope.
Inside were printed messages.
Photographs.
Bank transfers.
Rosalind looked down.
Vivienne's name appeared repeatedly.
So did Victor Kane's.
Gideon examined the records.
His jaw tightened.
"These need to be authenticated."
Sloane nodded quickly.
"I know."
Beckett looked toward his mother.
"Mom..."
Rosalind raised one hand.
She needed silence.
For decades, she'd trusted Vivienne.
Shared secrets.
Confided fears.
Asked for advice.
Now she was discovering that someone she'd considered family might have been helping manipulate her life.
She took a slow breath.
"Why would Vivienne do this?"
Sloane hesitated.
"She said Callum had stolen something from her."
Rosalind frowned.
"What?"
"An inheritance."
The room went silent.
Gideon looked up.
"What inheritance?"
Sloane swallowed.
"The Whitmore properties."
Rosalind stared.
Her properties.
The waterfront land.
The warehouses.
The companies her grandfather built.
"Those never belonged to Vivienne," Rosalind whispered.
Sloane nodded.
"That's what I thought."
Gideon's expression darkened.
"Then why would she claim them?"
Sloane looked toward the door.
"Because she says your father promised them to her family before he died."
Rosalind felt cold.
Another agreement.
Another secret.
Another person who believed she could be used as a bargaining chip.
She stood slowly.
"I want Vivienne here."
Margaret nodded.
"We'll request a meeting through counsel."
Rosalind looked at Sloane.
"You should tell the investigators everything."
Sloane began crying again.
"I will."
Rosalind studied her.
For a moment, she saw the frightened woman beneath the arrogance.
A woman who had wanted power because she believed power meant safety.
Rosalind understood that feeling better than she wanted to admit.
But understanding wasn't forgiveness.
Not yet.
"Go home, Sloane," she said quietly.
Sloane nodded.
Then hesitated.
"Rosalind?"
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry I hit you."
Rosalind looked at her.
"I believe you're sorry."
Sloane's face softened.
Then Rosalind finished:
"But being sorry doesn't erase what you did."
Sloane lowered her head.
"I know."
She left.
Three days later, Vivienne Voss agreed to meet.
She arrived at Margaret's office wearing a black suit and pearl earrings.
Her expression was calm.
Almost amused.
"Rosalind."
Rosalind stood.
"Vivienne."
Her sister-in-law smiled.
"I hear you've been asking questions."
Rosalind folded her arms.
"Sit down."
Vivienne raised an eyebrow.
"Well. Someone's feeling powerful."
Rosalind didn't smile.
Vivienne sat.
Gideon placed the documents on the table.
"Do you recognize these?"
Vivienne glanced down.
Her expression didn't change.
"Should I?"
"Your name appears on several transfers involving Mercer Capital."
She shrugged.
"I invest in many companies."
Gideon leaned forward.
"And you communicated with Sloane Mercer before she met my father."
Vivienne smiled.
"Small world."
Rosalind watched her carefully.
For years, Vivienne's humor had felt charming.
Now it seemed calculated.
"Why did you help Sloane?" Rosalind asked.
Vivienne looked at her.
"Did I?"
Rosalind remained silent.
Finally, Vivienne sighed.
"Fine."
She leaned back.
"Callum was unhappy."
Rosalind felt something twist in her chest.
"And?"
"Someone needed to remind him he had options."
Gideon stood abruptly.
Beckett caught his arm.
Rosalind raised one hand.
"Sit down, Gideon."
He obeyed.
She looked back at Vivienne.
"You arranged for another woman to enter my marriage."
Vivienne smiled faintly.
"I introduced two adults. Their choices were theirs."
Rosalind nodded.
"You're right about that."
Vivienne looked surprised.
Rosalind continued.
"Callum chose to betray me."
"Exactly."
"But you chose to help someone hurt me."
Vivienne's smile vanished.
Silence.
Then Rosalind asked:
"Why?"
Vivienne looked toward the window.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then she whispered:
"Because you took everything."
Rosalind stared.
"What?"
Vivienne turned back.
"The money. The companies. The respect."
Rosalind shook her head.
"Those properties belonged to my family."
Vivienne laughed bitterly.
"Your father got them because my father trusted him."
Gideon frowned.
"What?"
Vivienne looked at him.
"Ask your grandfather's old attorneys."
Rosalind felt cold.
"Vivienne."
Her sister-in-law's expression hardened.
"Your father wasn't the innocent man you think he was."
Rosalind stared.
Then Vivienne continued:
"He and Victor Kane made an agreement long before you married Callum."
"What agreement?"
Vivienne leaned forward.
"An agreement involving ownership of the waterfront assets."
Rosalind's heart raced.
"Then show me."
Vivienne smiled.
"I intend to."
She opened her handbag.
Removed a folder.
Placed it on the table.
Inside was an old contract.
Dated twenty-eight years earlier.
Rosalind recognized her father's signature.
Her heart stopped.
"What is this?"
Vivienne pointed to the final page.
"A transfer agreement."
Gideon examined it.
His expression changed.
"Mom..."
Rosalind looked at him.
"What?"
He swallowed.
"This appears to transfer certain ownership rights to the Voss family."
Rosalind stared.
"But my father never told me."
Vivienne smiled.
"Of course he didn't."
Rosalind looked at the contract again.
Then she noticed something.
The date.
Twenty-eight years earlier.
One year before Gideon was born.
The year she first met Callum.
Her stomach tightened.
She looked up slowly.
"Vivienne, how did your family know my father?"
Vivienne's smile faded.
For the first time, she seemed uncertain.
Rosalind continued:
"Callum told me he met my father through business."
Vivienne looked away.
"That's true."
"Then why does this contract say the Whitmore and Voss families were already negotiating a marriage arrangement?"
Silence.
Gideon looked up sharply.
"What?"
Beckett froze.
Piers stepped forward.
"Marriage arrangement?"
Rosalind stared at Vivienne.
"Answer me."
Her sister-in-law sighed.
"Your father wanted financial security."
Rosalind's chest tightened.
"And Callum's father wanted access to the Whitmore properties."
Vivienne nodded.
Rosalind felt the room spin.
"So they arranged our relationship?"
Vivienne looked at her.
"At first."
Rosalind couldn't breathe.
At first.
The words echoed.
She remembered meeting Callum at a charity dinner.
He'd approached her with a glass of champagne.
He'd smiled.
Asked whether she'd like to dance.
She'd fallen in love with him before the evening ended.
Had it all been arranged?
Had their entire marriage begun as someone else's business transaction?
Rosalind turned toward the window.
For twenty-seven years, she'd believed Callum was the man she chose.
Now she was discovering their meeting might have been planned.
But the love she'd given him afterward had been real.
That was what hurt.
Vivienne stood.
"Rosalind, you should understand something."
Rosalind turned.
"What?"
"The agreement never gave Callum full ownership."
Her heart raced.
"Then who?"
Vivienne smiled coldly.
"The oldest surviving Whitmore heir."
Rosalind stared.
"That's me."
Vivienne shook her head.
"No."
The room went completely still.
Rosalind swallowed.
"What?"
Vivienne reached into her handbag.
She removed a photograph.
It showed Rosalind's father standing beside a young woman holding a baby.
Rosalind stared.
"Who is she?"
Vivienne looked directly at her.
"Your father's first wife."
Rosalind's heart stopped.
"My mother was his first wife."
Vivienne smiled sadly.
"That's what he told you."
Rosalind felt cold spread through her body.
Gideon stepped forward.
"Who is the baby?"
Vivienne looked at him.
Then at Rosalind.
And whispered:
"Your mother's older sister."
Rosalind stared.
"I don't have a sister."
Vivienne's expression changed.
"You do."
Silence.
Then she continued:
"She was taken away before you were born."
Rosalind's hands began trembling.
"Where is she?"
Vivienne looked toward the door.
Then smiled.
"Closer than you think."
Before Rosalind could ask another question, the office door opened.
A woman entered.
Tall.
Silver-haired.
Elegant.
Rosalind stared.
Something about her face was painfully familiar.
The same blue eyes.
The same cheekbones.
The same small dimple near the mouth.
The woman smiled gently.
"Hello, Rosalind."
Rosalind couldn't breathe.
"Who are you?"
The woman took one step closer.
"My name is Evelyn Whitmore."
Rosalind stared.
Then Evelyn whispered:
"I'm your sister."
The room went silent.
Gideon looked stunned.
Beckett stepped closer.
Piers stared at his mother.
Rosalind gripped the table.
For decades, she'd believed she was her father's only daughter.
Now a stranger stood in front of her claiming otherwise.
But before she could speak, Evelyn continued:
"And there's something you need to know about Callum."
Rosalind's heart pounded.
"What?"
Evelyn looked down.
Then whispered:
"He knew about me."
Rosalind stopped breathing.
"Since when?"
Evelyn raised her eyes.
Her voice broke.
"Since before he married you."
Rosalind stared.
And for the first time since leaving the anniversary ballroom, she felt something more frightening than heartbreak.
She felt the past opening beneath her feet.
Then Evelyn said something that made the three Voss brothers go completely still.
"And I didn't come here for the inheritance. I came because someone is planning to kill your mother."
Rosalind froze.
"My mother died twenty years ago."
Evelyn shook her head.
"No, Rose."
Tears filled her eyes.
"She didn't."
And somewhere outside Margaret's office, a black car pulled slowly to the curb.
Inside sat a woman wearing dark sunglasses.
A woman Rosalind had buried two decades earlier.
A woman who was now watching her daughter through the glass.
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TO BE CONTINUED...
Continue with Chapter 11 consistentlyResolve the family timeline contradictions
